Juxtaposing things that normally don't go together in order to elevate debate about politics and religionby Teri Murphy, Integralist

"Transcend and include... this is the self-transcending drive of the Kosmos—to go beyond what went before and yet include what went before... to open into the very heart of Spirit-in-action." Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if a group of people somewhere were for something and against nothing?"Ernest Holmes

Sunday, June 12, 2016

What do you get when a defunct, "Uni-Faith" evangelist and a militant Catholic traditionalist discover, at the same time, a simple Franciscan monk who heals by touch? A very funny and sweet commentary on values that makes a yummy meal for fans of Spiral Dynamics.

Author Elmore Leonard is best known for suspense thrillers of gritty realism like Get Shorty. But in his 1997 film Touch, he makes us laugh while also honoring a simple spirituality outside traditional religion. The plot makes for a tutti-fruity mashup of the values memes that Spiral Dynamics calls us to master.

In a sweet coincidence, my husband Andy stumbled on this movie just as I was preparing to take a class on Spiral Dynamics from Jim Lockard. Lockard is a retired New Thought Minister who has helped my congregation think in evolutionary terms about our future. And he had just published a blog post on ministering to outrage. In "Touch," the Catholic militant leads a group called "Outrage." The best laugh of the movie comes when the militant reveals the name's meaning, "Organization Unifying for Traditional Rites as God Expects."

The militant does some buffoonish and dangerous acts. Yet the movie lends him some dignity for the caring behind his convictions. I'm thinking that might just make it second tier.

Interested in the interface between reason and religion, I'm a gently fallen-away Catholic who became enthralled by the New Thought teachings of Ernest Holmes. Then Ken Wilber's Integral Theory saved me from the fringe parts of New Age and softened me up for an adventure at a black, fundamentalist church--which in turn led to the amazing adventures in my book. Quite a journey! I also now coordinate the DC Ken Wilber Meetup.